When Disney Studios were under his care and direction, the animated features, films, and short movie, even the Mickey Mouse Club serial, were not only fun to watch but deeply rooted in the literature, the morality lessons of the time, and even as satires on daily dife. Goody was Everyman who struggled with his boss, his son, and so on. After he died and especially after Michael Eisner took over the company, something was lost. There was a cynicism to is that didn't quite gel. And it became more about the money than the children.
Wow, what you're saying is really interesting. Even though I watched a lot of his movies when I was little, I wasn't really aware of this at the time. Maybe it was because I was too young, but what you're saying could be very true.
When did you notice this? When you rewatched them as an adult?
As an adult and after I studied mythology for my storytelling career, I saw the mythological elements. Some of them were stunning. At the end of Bambi, for example, Bambi's father walks down from his majestic perch on the hillside and Bambi, as a fully-grown stag, takes his place, to oversee his own family as his father had done. It took my breath away.
As a grandmother, I watch the recent Disney features, like "Moana" and hear the characters talking like they come from Los Angeles rather than a South Pacific island. The issue is saving the Earth rather than showing some mythological phase of development in the human psyche. They have become indoctrination pieces for children rather than personal development.
If you've ever read anything by Joseph Campbell or seen the series of interviews between him and George Lucas, you'll see what I mean. Campbell was Lucas's professor at UCLA and inspiration for his Star Wars epic. In the series, Campbell tells about the mythological themes that have guided humans for eons. It came out in the 1990s and was quite a profound document for people who grew up on Disney.
While people denigrate Disney a lot, the earlier works were masterpieces while Eisner's work was commerce. After a few years of dealing with Eisner, Roy Disney left the company in disgust. He couldn't guide the work anymore.
Oh, I had no idea about this. I found what you said about the connection to mythology in Star Wars interesting. The truth is, I can't say much about it; I'm not familiar with the subject. But I can understand that Disney, seeing its success, has become a kind of film "factory," simply trying to replicate what works and streamlining the processes to make more movies, sell more, and not bother too much with creating works of depth.
Fascinating read. And I couldn't help but think a big part of his success is that he was doing everything else right. In other words, you can't realistically expect to eventually succeed if you are just phoning it in.
When Disney Studios were under his care and direction, the animated features, films, and short movie, even the Mickey Mouse Club serial, were not only fun to watch but deeply rooted in the literature, the morality lessons of the time, and even as satires on daily dife. Goody was Everyman who struggled with his boss, his son, and so on. After he died and especially after Michael Eisner took over the company, something was lost. There was a cynicism to is that didn't quite gel. And it became more about the money than the children.
Hi Sue! :)
Wow, what you're saying is really interesting. Even though I watched a lot of his movies when I was little, I wasn't really aware of this at the time. Maybe it was because I was too young, but what you're saying could be very true.
When did you notice this? When you rewatched them as an adult?
As an adult and after I studied mythology for my storytelling career, I saw the mythological elements. Some of them were stunning. At the end of Bambi, for example, Bambi's father walks down from his majestic perch on the hillside and Bambi, as a fully-grown stag, takes his place, to oversee his own family as his father had done. It took my breath away.
As a grandmother, I watch the recent Disney features, like "Moana" and hear the characters talking like they come from Los Angeles rather than a South Pacific island. The issue is saving the Earth rather than showing some mythological phase of development in the human psyche. They have become indoctrination pieces for children rather than personal development.
If you've ever read anything by Joseph Campbell or seen the series of interviews between him and George Lucas, you'll see what I mean. Campbell was Lucas's professor at UCLA and inspiration for his Star Wars epic. In the series, Campbell tells about the mythological themes that have guided humans for eons. It came out in the 1990s and was quite a profound document for people who grew up on Disney.
While people denigrate Disney a lot, the earlier works were masterpieces while Eisner's work was commerce. After a few years of dealing with Eisner, Roy Disney left the company in disgust. He couldn't guide the work anymore.
Oh, I had no idea about this. I found what you said about the connection to mythology in Star Wars interesting. The truth is, I can't say much about it; I'm not familiar with the subject. But I can understand that Disney, seeing its success, has become a kind of film "factory," simply trying to replicate what works and streamlining the processes to make more movies, sell more, and not bother too much with creating works of depth.
That's about it.
I am a retired Disney executive. This is all so true. Each Cast Member lives Walt’s mission to bring joy to everyone we meet.
Ben May
Orlando, Florida
Oh Ben, what a coincidence! Well, I'm so glad that's still the case; it means that Walt Disney's legacy lives on.
Fascinating read. And I couldn't help but think a big part of his success is that he was doing everything else right. In other words, you can't realistically expect to eventually succeed if you are just phoning it in.